New details emerged as testimony began Wednesday in the in the case of former Corpus Christi Police Department officer Norma Deleon.
She is charged with two counts of impersonating a public servant and two counts of official oppression after reportedly posing as a Child Protective Service worker to gain access to her boyfriend’s niece.
The charges stem from an incident on Nov. 29, 2018, when CCPD said Deleon called two police officers to escort her to an apartment on Carroll Lane for a welfare check on a child.
They said she then passed herself off as a CPS employee, so the girl’s father, Joshua Barnes, would allow her into the house.
During opening statements, Nueces Co. Asst. District Attorney Eric Flores said Deleon used her resources as a police officer, including a police computer, to find the young girl.
Meanwhile, Deleon's attorney, Terry Shamsie, said Deleon never identified herself as a CPS worker.
He pointed out that, before Deleon arrived at the apartment on Carroll Lane, she along with the two officers mistakenly went to a home on Navarro Drive. Once there, the homeowner asked Deleon, who was in plain clothes, if she was a caseworker.
"Who are you? A caseworker? Right?" he can be heard saying.
Deleon said "Yeah," and giggled. She later said "Nah, I'm cool."
Shamsie said the evidence will show that Deleon never conducted herself in a manner that would lead others to believe she was a CPS employee.
Once inside, police said found the girl and she used her cell phone to FaceTime with her maternal grandmother.
Moments later, Barnes realized Deleon was not a case worker but, in fact, dating the child's uncle, fellow CCPD officer Tommy Cabello.
